Chinese fantasy, sci-fi film Monster Hunt received two highly coveted prizes during the grand finale of the 13th Annual Abuja International Film Festival that ended on Friday at the Nigerian Capital.

The Monster Hunt, which was released in July last year, bagged the "Outstanding Film in Animation" and "Golden Jury Award" at the closing gala of the festival.

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The awards were received by Yan Xiangdong, the cultural counselor at the Embassy of China in Abuja, who remarked that in the previous edition of the festival, only Chinese feature movies were recommended.

"These two prizes are very important to us. I am very excited. The animation movies are very popular, so this time we concentrated on these animation movies," Xiangdong said.

"I think it means that the animation movies are well recognized by the professionals here."

The film, which was screened during the festival, received a remarkable round of applause from foreign filmmakers and audience when it was called twice as the winner for the two categories mentioned earlier, Yibada reported citing the entertainment research service provider EntGroup in a press release on Monday.

A mix of 3D animation and live action, Monster Hunt swiftly became a China's box office sensation, breaking several records including the country's highest grossing film in 2015, the Global Times reported.

Monkey King, Ballet in Flames of War, and Bonnie Bears were the three other Chinese films featured during the festival. All the Chinese films were nominated in six various award categories.

According to the organizers, the selection of nominees is a two-week process, screening more than 700 films from 39 countries. Juries include filmmakers, movie critics, and other industry stakeholders.

In a related news, Fan Bingbing's I Am Not Madame Bovary also won the top prize of the San Sebastian International Film Festival last month. The actress herself also earned the Silver Shell as best actress.

TagsMonster Hunt, Abuja International Film Festival, animated films, Abuja Film Festival 2016, film festival